Mrs. Wheelwright said to Stella: "I am so glad you found a man worthy of your love, and he certainly is. I could not have made one to order to suit you as well. All I feared was that he would live without a wife, because I knew how much you loved him, and no one else would ever fill his place in your affections. I rejoice daily that we have such a dear daughter; one that Penloe has seen fit to love and cherish as a life companion."
"Mother," said Stella, "there is no such thing as disappointment in love to those who are living on the plane that Penloe and I are on, for we are led by the promptings of the Blessed Infinite One, to each other."
Mrs. Wheelwright said: "Oh, if more would only live on the spiritual plane, how much happier they would be in all that pertains to this life."
Stella said: "I am going to write to aunt to-day and tell her of my engagement to Penloe." So later in the day she sat down and wrote the following letter:
"My Dear Aunt: As you have always taken so much interest in my future happiness, I think it no more than right that I should inform you of my engagement to Penloe. Yes, dear Aunt, I proposed to him last evening and he accepted me and has given me his love in return.
"Let me thank you, dear Aunt, for your kindness to me, and I hope that our being engaged may meet with your approval. Penloe is going to live in the pines for the next six months. After he has been there three months I am going up there to live with him, and will be his log-cabin companion for three months. After that we will be united in marriage.
"Mother and father join me in love to you. As ever,
"Your Affect. Niece,
Stella Wheelwright."
From that time till Stella went to the mountains to live with Penloe, she was busy in two ways. Her time was occupied in one direction in writing a little book on the sex question. Barker and Brookes told her if she would write the book they would pay for having it printed and would circulate thousands of copies free. Those two young men were now Stella's co-workers in the grand field of removing bondage. The other way in which Stella was very busy was in following a certain course of mental and spiritual exercise as marked out for her by Penloe.